Welcome to Special Collections, part of the Archives & Special Collections department at the University of Calgary Libraries and Cultural Resources. This website provides information on the Special Collections book and archival holdings. The collections have a strong focus on Canadian literature, art and music and also on Western Canadian history. They include:

• Archives of authors such as W.O. Mitchell, Mordecai Richler, and Alice Munro, and composers such as Srul Irving Glick, and R. Murray Schafer
• Rare books including several incunabla (books printed before 1500), and a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible
• The complete library of historian Dr. George F.G. Stanley
• The Eugène Strens Recreational Mathematics Collection
• The collection of Dene Crafts and library from eminent Albertan Dr. M.P. Hess

Most Special Collections books are searchable on the University of Calgary Library Catalogue. Individual archival holdings, consisting of correspondence, original manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings, etc. require the use of special finding aids. Some collections have online finding aids, while other finding aids are located only in the Reading Room. If you are not sure where to begin, the Archives Society of Alberta has a tutorial which provides information about archives and how they operate.

Materials are available to researchers for use only in our Reading Room.

Contact us if you have any questions about the collections or require assistance.

Archives and Special Collections: Now open in the Taylor Family Digital Library (Arts and Culture 5th Floor)

Archives and Special Collections is now open in suite 520 Taylor Family Digital Library within the Centre for Arts and Culture.

Many of our collections are now located offsite and will need to be retrieved for clients to access in our reading room in the Taylor Library. Clients are required to request access to resources at least 1-2 days in advance of their visit.  To request access to collections please contact us at archives@ucalgary.ca.

We have digitized parts of our collection which can be accessed 24/7 from your office or home computer: :
Special Collections

Other digital collections can be found at:
University Archives
Canadian Architectural Archives
Libraries and Cultural Resources